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piperclover's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This feels similar to The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch. It's highly entertaining but I also feel like it's way too shallow. Like there's a lot of topics that it could dive into just the tiniest bit more but it never does. Nolan was a foster child but he has almost no past and not not a single emotional hang up? I know a lot of people go through foster care without any deep trauma but it just feels weird that there's not a single mention of it being difficult or literally anything. Also certain things get brought up and then never discussed again which was annoying because I felt like they were important or I just wanted to know the answer. That's actually a running theme where things happen or Nolan wonders about things but he never asks about them.
I also think this is kind of full of stereotypes like Nolan is this kind of gangley gay kid who sucks at sports and hates gym class. I'm tired of it. Gay kids can like sports and be good in gym class. We desperately needed Ira's pov the entire time because again it just felt shallow. And Nolan has a personality that's really entertaining but he never expresses it to anybody except his sister and best friend?? Nolan gets harassed consistently all the way through high school and it brought up frequently but no one does anything, not his sister or his best friend or any kid in the hall or the teacher who witnesses it.
I know this is a lot of complaints and I do have more but overall I did really enjoy it. It's just a silly, very shallow entertaining fake dating high school trope. It's what it says on the tin.
I also think this is kind of full of stereotypes like Nolan is this kind of gangley gay kid who sucks at sports and hates gym class. I'm tired of it. Gay kids can like sports and be good in gym class. We desperately needed Ira's pov the entire time because again it just felt shallow. And Nolan has a personality that's really entertaining but he never expresses it to anybody except his sister and best friend?? Nolan gets harassed consistently all the way through high school and it brought up frequently but no one does anything, not his sister or his best friend or any kid in the hall or the teacher who witnesses it.
I know this is a lot of complaints and I do have more but overall I did really enjoy it. It's just a silly, very shallow entertaining fake dating high school trope. It's what it says on the tin.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Stalking
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